10 Most Common Issues to Know Before You Upgrade to Mac OS Sierra

Despite gathering enormous attention and huge expectations upon its launch, Mac OS Sierra has experienced a series of fall. The culprit for it, are its most common issues that you might have faced until now. For all those who haven’t yet updated their current version to OS Sierra, this is a note!

While there are some real good features on OS Sierra, lags and crashes over it might ruin your experience. We have listed 10 most common Mac OS Sierra problems and how you should fix them. New comers, mark them! You might be faced with them soon.

MacOS Sierra problem 1: It Freezes or Crashes while installing

You might experience a sluggish installation on macOS Sierra with some crashes and freezes. You should try out these hacks to get rid of this issue.

Before you install MacOS Sierra, you should uninstall or disable antivirus program running on your Mac.

Press the power button while holding down the shift key on your keyboard.

Boot your Mac into Safe mode and then try installing the update.

Switch to sound internet connection while installing macOS Sierra.

MacOS Sierra problem 2: MacOS Sierra won’t start

Some have even dealt with interrupting start-up or mac not turning on altogether. For this, you should restart your Mac and hold down Command, Option, P and R keys on the keyboard. This will reset the NVRAM (non-volatile RAM). You should hold them until your mac restarts and the startup chime is prompted for the second time. Once you hear the sound again, you should release the keys. This will reset PRAM as well.

MacOS Sierra problem 4: App Errors

MacOS Sierra has been reported with an app errors. Upon opening an app, it doesn’t open up instead shows an error message- ‘damaged and can’t be opened’.

This can be fixed with by deleting cache from your Mac. The steps to clear cache are mentioned above. You should also clear PRAM by restarting your Mac and holding on Command, Option, P and R keys on your keyboard. If these doesn’t work for you, you can also hold Option and Command keys while clicking on the app’s icon.

MacOS Sierra problem 5: Sluggish Wi-Fi

Slow Wi-Fi is another issue on macOS Sierra. This can be fixed by deleting Wi-Fi Preference from your Mac. These can be found in the following folders using Go to Folder command (Command + Shift + G)

com.apple.airport.preferences.plist

com.apple.network.identification.plist

com.apple.wifi.message-tracer.plist

NetworkInterface.plist

Preferences.plist

Once you have deleted these, you must reboot Mac and modem or router

MacOS Sierra problem 6: Bluetooth incompatibility

Some users have reported about the connectivity issue with their Bluetooth devices. You might be facing this issue because of Apple’s compliance with Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) outplacing Bluetooth devices that don’t adhere as closely to the SIG’s standards.

You can opt for power cycling (i.e. running your devices to zero power and charging them again). If this doesn’t work, you can revert to your Mac to EI Capitan until the provider of said Bluetooth device issues a firmware update to said device.

MacOS Sierra problem 7: Time Machine won’t work properly

Time Machine issues have become a prominent issue on macOS Sierra. For this Apple has issued a small guide. Follow it here.

SMC Reset for the iMac

Shut down the device

Disconnect the power cord from the monitor

Wait 60 seconds

Reconnect power cord

DO NOT POWER UP DEVICE

PRAM Reset

The computer should still be shut down.

Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.

Press and release the power button to turn on the computer.

Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears. Continue holding the keys down until the computer restarts, and you hear the startup sound for the 3rd time.

Release the keys.

You can then try backing up again. If that doesn’t work, try turning off indexing on the drive you’re backing up.

MacOS Sierra problem 8: iTunes won’t work

Well if your iTunes isn’t working properly on macOS Sierra, then simply update it to its latest version (v 12.5.1). You can update it from App Store or from iTunes website.

MacOS Sierra problem 9: Your Mac Overheats and fans keep spinning

This another annoying issue on OS Sierra. This happens because your Mac reaches a certain temperature where cooling becomes little problematic. You need to stop Finder from indexing your hard drive, as this can a reason for your Mac to heat up. This can be checked by opening up the Activity Monitor and looking for any mdworker processes. If still your fans continue to spin loudly and it becomes distracting, you may need to restore a previous version of Mac OS X until a fix is released

MacOS Sierra problem 10: iCloud Error

Sometimes you even come across iCloud error, despite it being tightly integrated on macOS Sierra. These errors can be fixed with a few simple steps.

Open the Apple menu and click on ‘System Preferences’

Select iCloud > Sign Out.

Next, reboot your Mac,

Go back to the iCloud preference window and log back into iCloud.

These are some of the issues that you might have come across on your MacOS Sierra. We’d hope you to have a great experience on it!

Author: Minal KhatriMinal Khatri is a blogger at Systweak Software. She comes up with tech solutions with her write ups and attempts to help out typical users’. Offline, she is mostly found reading about philosophies, interacting with new people and learning about different cultures.

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